Blair Hurley '09

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Blair Hurley '09

Writer

Me in 50 words or less:
I'm a novelist and instructor of creative writing. I am the author of THE DEVOTED, published by W.W. Norton, which was longlisted for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. My work is published in The New England Review, Electric Literature, The Georgia Review, Guernica, Paris Review Daily, West Branch, and elsewhere. I received a 2018 Pushcart Prize, two Pushcart Prize nominations in 2019, and another Pushcart nomination in 2021.

Pronouns:
She/her/hers

Undergraduate Affiliations

Department: English
Certificates: Creative Writing
Arts-related Groups: Nassau Literary Review

Bio

I am a novelist and short story writer who is inspired by the experiences of women in religious traditions. I have written stories about nuns, followers, cult leaders, and female saints; across my stories and novels, I feel driven to imagine my way into women’s private experience, and the dynamics of power, sexuality, exploitation, and the ceaseless lure of the divine. I write frequently about the ways women can become both victims of religion wielded as a cudgel, and wielders of power.

Across the novels I’ve written, I find myself haunted by similar questions of the female spiritual experience — and I’m drawn more to the stories women tell themselves and each other about sisterhood, friendship, loyalty and devotion, and the ways we struggle to define ourselves in relation to the women we grow up alongside.

My work often shines a harsh light on the ways many different religious institutions make women invisible, or deny them the right to communion with their version of the divine. But I’m also interested in the way faith gives women sustenance and beauty in a world that often denies them. For women breaking away from oppressive religions, the attraction of the sacred, and the powerful narrative of belief, can prove inalienable. I try to write those stories of fractured faith with honesty and sensitivity. Above all, my stories are curious about character, and I consider it my obligation as a feminist artist to capture women in their complexity, including the ways women police each other as a means of survival.

I would like to share my expertise with:

  • Alumni

  • Students

I would like to:

  • Speak on a panel

  • Conduct a workshop

  • Share advice via phone or coffee chat

Contact Blair Hurley